A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

 
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The book A Tale of Two Cities was first published in 1859 describing the French
revolution that took place in the 18th century. This novel resembles Thomas Carlyle’s book
featuring two cities, Paris and London. The tale by Charles Dicken's is about a young seventeenyear-old girl, Lucie Manette, who is brought to Paris by Mr. Jarvis Lorry in search of her father,
Dr. Alexandre Manette, who is released after 18 years of imprisonment in Bastille.
Their journey starts in the Paris suburb known as Saint Antoine where her father is
supposedly kept. A couple called the Defarges, being secret revolutionaries and owners of a wine
shop, take them to her father who they housed after his discharge. Monsieur Defarge used to
work for Dr. Mannete before his imprisonment; ironically, Dr. Manette, Lucie’s father is now
under the care of his former servant. The author depicts Dr. Mannete as a person who is still
suffering the trauma of his imprisonment and seems to be withdrawn. The eighteen years spent in
jail have taken a toll on him making him quite reserved; his only pastime is making shoes, which
he learned how to mend during those long 18 years of imprisonment. He stares at his daughter
who he barely recognizes. However, thanks to Lucie's devotedness and love to her father, her
father gets recovered.
Lucie takes her father back home with Lorry’s help. She falls in love with Charles
Darnay. They later get married and give birth to a daughter who then dies in the height of the
revolution, which sends Charles back to Paris to rescue a family servant who has been held 
Your Last Name 2
captive by the revolutionaries. He, however, does not succeed and is caught by the
revolutionaries. Charles finds himself facing a trial being accused of crimes his family allegedly
committed.
The plot gets complex when a man called Sydney Carton, who strikingly resembles
Charles, decides to be sentenced instead of Charles on his behalf. Sydney has a secret love for
Lucie and probably does this to spare her the heartache of losing her husband. In a swift flow of
events, Lucie and Charles manage to escape from France to England while Sydney Carton is
hanged. His death is a heroic act to save his secret love, Lucie Manette, and her husband Charles
Darney.
The story is driven by politics, and it is interesting how Charles Dickens takes an antipolitical side. He criticizes tyranny and ends up ridiculing the revolution. The book remains in
one's memory for its famous lines "it was the best of times and it was the worst of times”
(Dickens 267) as well as Carton's words once he said before he goes to guillotine, “it is far, far
better thing that I do, than I have ever done” (Dickens 699). Lucie and Charles are later blessed
with a son who they name after Sydney Carton to show their appreciation to their dear friend
who gave his life to sacrifice their lives, family, and love.
Your Last Name 3
Work Cited
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Chelsea House, 1987.